Info

Knowledge For Men Archives

Today's most successful leaders share their incredible stories and life lessons to help you get the life you want in the areas of health, wealth, relationships and personal growth. Every show is jam packed with actionable tips and insights that will propel you forward to become the man you want to be. Join us at knowledgeformen.com for recaps of every interview as well as an incredible gold mine of resources to help you live better. Are you ready?
RSS Feed
Knowledge For Men Archives
2020
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2018
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May


2016
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February


2014
December


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: September, 2018
Sep 26, 2018

Growing up in a fatherless home, Tony Little experienced significant adversity in his youth. After moving to Florida to live with his uncle, he began a career in bodybuilding winning the Mr. Florida title and being on track to win Mr. America before a tragic bus accident ended his bodybuilding career.

After a bout with depression and uncertainty, Tony decided to build a career in the fitness and advertising markets. Tony’s fitness products have grossed over $3 billion with over 45 million customers. At 57 Tony is still working in the fitness advertisement industry developing new and innovative products every year.

Favorite Success Quote

“When you change your mindset, you change your life. ” – Tony Little

Key Points

1. Change Your Environment Change Your Life
 

As a young man, Tony grew up in a small town with very few positive influences in his life. As such, he became involved with the wrong crowd at an early age experimenting with drugs and alcohol and butting heads with the law. After an unintentional GTA, his mom decided to move him to Florida to live with his uncle, and this is when his life changed.

By changing his environment, Tony was able to change his future. Regardless of your situation, there are probably some tweaks you can make in your environment to improve your life. Spend less time with unmotivated and uninspiring people, make your pantry more conducive to healthy eating, unplug your TV and buy more books, do whatever is necessary to get you to the life you want.

 
2. Fight Harder When Your Back is Against the Wall
 
Life is full of adversity, always has been, always will be. But the times when it is most difficult to be on our feet are the times when we need to stand strong the most. Whatever challenges life throws at you, do not cower from them, face them and overcome them. Fight like hell and never give up, because it is often the most difficult challenges that result in the greatest rewards.
 
3. Never Quit
 
Plain and simple, reaching your goals is difficult, but quitting wont make it any easier. You only have one shot at the game of life, so make it count. If you want something, fight for it, and don’t stop fighting until you get it. Don’t quit when you’re tired, quit when you’re finished.
 
4. Believe in Yourself
 

Henry Ford once said “Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t you are most certainly correct.” Believing you can do something does not ensure success, but believing that you cannot ensures failure.

If you believe in yourself and work tirelessly to make your vision a reality, you will inevitably succeed in some manner. However, lack of belief in self will prevent you from even taking the first step toward your goals.

Sep 24, 2018

RJ Mitte is an American actor and producer most widely known for his role as Walter Jr. on the AMC series Breaking Bad. RJ started his acting career at 13 despite suffering from Cerebral Palsy, and has actually learned to use his disability as an advantage in securing movie and TV parts. RJ is currently in the process of auditioning around the country for his next role.

Favorite Success Quote

“Find your niche” – Mother

Key Points

1. Look at your disabilities as a strength

At a very young age, RJ has created a successful career in one of the toughest industries in the world by using his disadvantages as a strength. Despite suffering from CP, Rj has been able to seek out niche roles playing characters with similar disabilities.

We often find ourselves using our past, current circumstances or upbringing as an excuse for why we cannot achieve greatly, however, no excuse is valid, and the career that RJ has been able to create for himself is a testament to what can happen in your life when you forgo excuses in favor of action.

2. You must stand up for yourself

The world is full of people who are complacent and subservient to others. They allow life, society, a spouse, a friend or any number of external influences to walk all over them and their dreams. You must take control of your own life, and stand up for yourself, stop taking shit from other people and make sure that your voice is heard.

3. Make the most of the time you have

Despite its negative connotation, there is great truth in the phrase “YOLO,” you only live once. Do not see this as a green light to live lives of debauchery and frivolity, rather see this as a challenge, a challenge to make the most of the limited time that you have on this earth.

You only get one chance to make a difference, you only get one chance to touch lives, you only get one chance to leave a legacy that will ring through the ages, and you only get one chance to make sure that your life is worth a damn. You only live once, don’t waste it.

Sep 19, 2018

Aaron Lamont Curry is the author of “This is Why You’re Single” a relationship and personal growth book that focuses on helping individuals to examine themselves and their beliefs about dating and relationships so that they can better understand the reasons they are struggling to find love. Aaron is currently traveling the country, speaking on relationships, and writing his next book in the “why you’re single” series.

Favorite Success Quote

“Don’t give your heart to anyone just to have someone.” – Anonymous

Key Points

1. Don’t settle for less than you deserve

It is so easy to settle for sub par relationships (both romantic and otherwise) because you do not want to face the discomfort of loneliness. It’s easy to justify staying with someone despite low class behaviors, just because you don’t want to go through the pain of singleness.

If you want to achieve great things in your life, in your business, and in your relationships, you must realize that you cannot settle for less than you deserve. You are the average of the people with whom you associate most, and this applies doubly to romantic relationships.

If you are dating someone with no drive, ambition or common values, you are setting yourself up for failure. Make the decision to raise your standards, only allow relationships that are edifying, that add value to your life, and that move your dreams forward. .

2. The simple actions make all the difference

The majority of men today have lost the art of chivalry. Simple things that show you love and respect a woman are no longer practiced, or if they are, they are done in a manipulative way to try and achieve a desired outcome (typically sex). If you want to be a man who stands out in the crowd, do the simple actions to show women that you care.

Open doors, walk on the side closest to the street, offer her your coat if she is cold, be a gentleman. This doesn’t just apply to women you are dating either, display this type of respect and humility whether the woman is a Victoria’s Secret model or an elderly lady crossing the street. Women will notice, and you will be a better man because of it.

3. Take the appropriate steps in relationships

It is all too easy to rush a relationship just for the sake of a relationship. However, if you want lasting love, take your time. Don’t decide you want to marry the girl before you even meet her. Date for a while before you start moving things along, hold off on the sex until you decide whether this is the kind of girl that you want to be with for more than a night, take it slow.

Women will respect this, and it will save you a ton of pain and heartache in the long run.

4. Don’t get into a relationship for sex

Simple but profound, as the old saying goes, “Don’t buy a ring for what you can buy on the street.” Sex is never a good reason to date or marry someone.

5. Ask the right question to find the right answer

When we examine our lives, especially the lack of certain things in our lives, we often ask the wrong questions. We ask “why” we are single instead of asking “what” we are doing that has kept us single, we ask questions that allow us to answer with cop outs and justifications instead of getting to the root of the issue. Start improving the quality of your questions and your life will improve with them.

6. You miss 100% of the shots you do not take

Life is too damn short to always live in fear. Do not allow the fear of failure to hold you back from becoming the man you want to become, because the truth is, inaction is the greatest failure of all. You will never achieve anything if you do not first try, even if you only succeed by 1% that is still 1% more than you could have achieved without taking action. Feel the fear, and do it anyways.

Sep 17, 2018

Early on in life Sean struggled with panic attacks, anxiety and depression all stemming from an unhealthy lifestyle and a weed brownie gone wrong. For months, Sean couldn’t even bring himself to get out of bed, and common activities like grocery shopping lead to severe anxiety attacks. Sean decided to defeat take back control of his life and delved heavily into personal growth.

Now, 3 years later, Sean is a totally different person free from anxiety, depression and panic. Sean is the founder and CEO of the manprovement blog and podcast, a platform that allows him to help thousands of men become their best selves

Favorite Quote

“Man cannot remake himself without struggle for he is both the marble and the sculptor” – Alexis Carol

Key Points

1. Always keep hope

For years, Sean suffered through severe bouts of anxiety and depression, making life a living hell. Through it all, he never lost hope, he never gave up or stopped believing life could change. No matter what situation you face in your own life, you must keep hope.

It may look like your relationships will never improve, it may look like you will always be broke and unemployed, and it may look like you will always be depressed and unhappy with your life. But if you put in the work and strive to make changes, your life can and will improve.

2. Learn self reliance

To be a complete man, you must be self reliant. This means that you take responsibility for everything in your life, and are operating out of a mindset that says “I am enough.” You have a higher purpose and are working to achieve it, you do not need anything other than yourself.

You could have everything you’ve worked to build stripped away and you will still be just as content as you are now. Any man who wants to achieve greatly learn to rely on himself and not other, he must learn to be content with who and what he is, but always be striving to improve.

Sean’s 10 Steps to Success

1. Decide to take the wheel

One of the biggest turning points in every man’s life is when he decides to take responsibility for everything in his life. Whatever you have or do not have is your fault. This does not mean you blame yourself for failures, you simply accept where you are and accept that it is within your power to change it.

2. Get a clear vision of who you want to be

“If you do not know where you are going, any road will get you there”~Lewis Carol

If you want to achieve anything big in life be it in your health, finances, relationships or personal growth, you must have a road map to get there, a clearly defined end goal. You must decide what you want before you can take the appropriate steps to achieve it.

3. Make yourself accountable

Having clearly defined, written goals with a deadline is one of the most powerful accelerators to your success, add some social pressure by posting your goals on Facebook or Twitter and you are golden.

4. Reverse engineer goals

After you have your ideal future, and clearly defined goals to get you there. You must reverse engineer. Look at the end result you want and figure out each step it will take to get there.

5. Create automation and habits

To make the achievement of your goals easier, create powerful habits in your life that will get you closer to your goal each day. Are you trying to write a book? Wake up an hour before you have to every morning and write 1,000 words. Trying to build a better body? Start implementing small healthy habits like drinking more water or walking in the morning. The more you can make your habits work for you, the quicker you will achieve your goals.

6. Self educate

Never allow disabling ignorance to prevent you from achieving a goal you have set. With public libraries and the internet there is no excuse for lack of knowledge.

7. Visualize daily

Once you have a clearly defined end goal or “ideal self” take ten minutes each morning and visualize yourself having already achieved the goal. This is a powerful way to train your brain to achieve success before you take the first step

8. Put in the work

None of the above steps will work without this, you cannot achieve anything without action, and not just any action, massive action. If you want success, you can no longer be content to simply visualize what you want. Turn off the xbox, get off your ass and start making it happen.

9 & 10. Bonuses:

Adding cold showers, meditation and daily exercise to your morning or evening routines will supercharge your mind and body for success. Also maintaining a long term mindset (3-5 years for big goals) will help keep you grounded and on track when times get hard.

Sep 12, 2018

Brian has always had an itch for adventure. He served in the U.S. Navy as an Air Rescue Swimmer, he has summited 6 of the 7 major peaks in the world including Mount Everest, which, after a solo ascent, he was forced to descend blind due to faulty goggles causing snow blindness. Brian wrote the book “Blind Descent” based off of the events and lessons learned from his time at Everest and is currently training to summit the last of the seven peaks

Favorite Success Quote

“Get busy living or get busy dying” – Shawshank Redemption

Key Points

1. Live as a Doer, Not a Sayer

Life is full of sayers. People who say they will lose weight, say they will start saving more than they spend or say they will start that business they have been talking about for years. But they never follow through. They are relegated to lives of menial existences, filled with mediocre intentions and non existent actions.

As men who want to be more than average, as men who want to create a life worth living, we must become doers. Don’t say you’re going to start a business, do it. Don’t say you’re going to start working out, do it. Let your actions speak so loud that you don’t need to say a damn thing.

2. Evaluate Every Situation

As men (especially younger men) we are often prone to haste, because quite frankly, waiting sucks. As guys, if we’re going to do something, we don’t want to wait, we don’t want to weigh different courses of action and examine the possible consequences. And this is when we get into trouble.

This is how businesses fail, how sexual mistakes are made, and how dreams are broken. We must learn to pause before taking action and evaluate. Ask ourselves what the consequences of our actions will be and determine the best possible way to proceed.

3. Don’t Over-think Things

Often just as easy as not thinking at all is over-thinking situations to the point of insanity. If we go out and get a cute girl’s number, we will sit for hours trying to think of the perfect line to text her, stewing over every single word instead of sending a simple “hey.” We often obsess over minutiae instead of focusing on the big picture.

As Einstein once said “Make things simpler, but not simpler than they need to be.” Don’t over-analyze, pause, take stock and execute.

4. Take Life One Step at a Time

As men who are driven and ambitious, it is easy to live in the future, focusing on steps that are light years away. We think about the color of the flowers we will have at our wedding, before we even say hello to the girl. We think about how we will invest our income from our next venture, before we even know what that venture will be.

We think about pretty much anything, except the thing right in front of us. Like Brian did while descending Everest blind, we need to slow down and take things one step at a time. Face each challenge as it presents itself and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

Sep 10, 2018

A few years ago, Joel Runyon got tired of having an average life, working at UPS and waiting for things to happen to me, so he decided to do something about it. He made a list of all the things he used to think were impossible and then I set out to do them. Now Joel works on his own terms and does his best to live a life of adventure and meaning while doing the impossible.

Favorite Success Quote

“It’s always impossible till its done” – Nelson Mandela

Key Points

1. You have to at least try

Chances are, you will fail (at least in the beginning) at everything you try. Despite what many gurus may tell you, success is never guaranteed. However, you will never know how far you can go, never know how much of a difference you can make, and never know what you could have accomplished without trying.

No matter what the venture, give it a shot, try it out. Don’t expect immediate success, or success at all, simply try. Once you take that first step, you may be surprised where the path takes you.

2. You can’t wait for things to happen to you

The world will never hand you success, or hand you opportunities. You must make them. Make a decision to take action and create your own path, as James Altucher says in his phenomenal book, “You must Choose Yourself.” No one else will. No one else has your best interest at heart, if you want anything, you must take responsibility and make it happen.

3. Be entrepreneurial in your career

With the online entrepreneur buzz that is so prevalent in modern society, it is often tempting to hand in your resignation and start building your own gig without first establishing a runway. A far wiser approach is to use your current career as a training ground for your future endeavors.

Seek to make the most impact and value in your current position rather than seeking to create a new one. And most importantly, learn all you can. Working in a corporate job can teach you how to effectively manage your time as you try to build your own gig on the side.

It can teach you how to effectively and maturely deal with all levels of jackassery that you will inevitably encounter within a 9-5. And it will teach you how to grind it out, how to keep going even when things are not going your way.

4. Start small

After listening to inspiring stories about tri-athletes and multimillionaire businessmen, it is often tempting to only look at the end result without contemplating the steps taken to achieve it. The key to seeing results in your own life it to create a snowball effect of “impossible” actions.

Want to lose 30 lbs. and get shredded? Focus on the first 5 lbs. Want to become a millionaire blogger? Focus on making your first $1,000. Start small and let the actions compound for bigger and bigger results. Take it one step at a time and before you know it, you will be miles from where you started.

5. Just keep going

The simplest, yet most challenging piece of advice. Just keep going. As Winston Churchill so famously put it “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Do not stop, even when everything is caving around you, do not give others the satisfaction of seeing you quit. Keep going no matter what.

Sep 5, 2018

David Waknine is a former professional boxer who reached the Golden Gloves tournament under the training of his mentor Eddie Tyler. After losing the Golden Gloves competition, David turned his back on boxing and set down a road of unhealthy lifestyle choices that resulted in obesity and depression.

In 2011, Eddie Tyler passed away after a battle with cancer, and the loss caused David to do some serious soul searching. David has decided to reenter the ring, and is now training and making a documentary of his journey back into boxing called “One More Round.”

Favorite Success Quote

“Say what you mean, and mean what you say.”

Key Points

1. Integrity Above All

It is often all too easy to become complacent with your word. More often than not, there is no malicious intent, we simply do not follow through with what we say. We say we will meet someone at 5, and show up at 5:15. We say we will lose 20 lbs. in the new year, but quit the gym after the first week.

We promise our family a vacation or weekend trip, but get caught up in work and go back on our promise. If you say you will do something, you do it, period. A man is only as good as his word, ensure that yours is impeccable.

2. Accept Your Demons

We all have demons. For some men it’s alcohol, for some it’s porn, and for others it’s a traumatic childhood event we never truly overcame. No matter who we are, we all have those deep dark struggles that we are scared to bring into the light for fear of what it would do.

Whatever your particular demons, we must be men enough to accept and defeat them. If we don’t, we are at the mercy of the things which we hate most in our lives. Face your fears and conquer them courageously.

3. You Will Face Dark Days on Any Journey, You Must Learn to Face Them with Pride

No one in history lived a life without trials. Everyone will face both internal and external struggles during our time on earth, and it is the character that we show during these struggles that will define us as men. In every challenging and dark day we face, we have a choice.

The choice to accept things as they are and face them no matter the cost, or the choice to cower in fear, and let circumstances dictate our lives. It is the choices you make during the darkest of times that you will be remembered for.

4. Take the First Step, the Rest Will Follow

As the old saying goes “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” In life, we all have dreams and desires that often seem out of reach. The career path we wish we could have, the relationships we want, the lifestyle of freedom.

Instead of taking action to achieve our goals, we allow our fear to paralyze us from making that first step, the hardest step. However, once we take the first step, the rest are easy.By taking the first step and following it with small consistent action, we begin to hardwire ourselves for success.

Once we talk to that first beautiful woman, the others are easy. Once we make our first dollar online, the next hundred comes naturally. Once we go on that first adventure, the others all fall into place. If we want to live lives of excellence, lives worth writing about, then we must take that first step no matter how scared we may be.

Sep 3, 2018

As a young man Eric spent a large amount of his time partying and drinking, and was heading down a path to nowhere, until his uncle challenged him to change. Eric began his career working as a meat salesman in south Chicago and continued into a career in telecom. Eric is now building his company Squeeze with the goal of inspiring and motivating people to make positive change in the world.

Favorite Success Quote

“Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Stay hungry, stay foolish” – Steve Jobs

Key Points

1. Everyone in life will face squeezes, make the best out of them.

No one in the history of the universe faced a life without challenge. We will all face some squeeze, be it in our health, relationships or finances. We must realize it’s not the squeeze that defines us, but how we respond to it.

2. Seek to inspire others.

A life well lived is a life that positively impacted others. Make your goal in life to inspire as many other people as you can, to make as much of a difference as you can, and to help as many other people as you can. Find something that you have a passion for and use it as a vehicle to bring about change in others. One day we will all die, and all that will he left is the lives we impacted and the legacy we left.

3. Understand the happiness equation.

Finding something you love to do + someone to love + something to hope for = happiness. If you are feeling lost and unsure, find something you are passionate about, someone you are passionate about, and a future worth hoping for. Realize that there will always be challenges, there will always be failures and there will always be set backs, but if you have a purpose that keeps you grounded and a support team to hold you accountable, none of these “squeezes” will defeat you.

4. Do something!

You cannot be content to sit on the sidelines in life. If you want something, make it happen. Begin taking small actions every day to achieve the life you want, the universe won’t hand you anything. If you want to achieve anything in life you must begin taking massive action.

1